Applied Creativity
- The consumer product:
- - Washing Machine
- - GE Appliances Ultra Fresh Front Load Washer with Odor Block
- - Basic design with front loading door. Available in dark gray and white.
- Interview
- - What do they like about it?
“I like the front-loading door, that is a window so that I can see what is going on while the clothes are washing. I also like the sleek and simple design that makes it look good in differing households.”
- - What do they not like about it?
- - “I don’t like that it’s difficult to get my wet clothes to the dryer, especially when they are stacked on top of eachother. I hate laundry because you have to wait around for the clothes to clean to change them to the dryer. It takes up a portion of my day.”
- - What would they change?
“I wish there was an easier way to get the clothes to the dryer.”
3. My solution to the problem is to design a new washing and drying machine that makes laundry easier. The new washing and drying machines will be one unit, with the washing machine on top of the dryer. The washing machine will be designed with a latch bottom that opens when the cycle has completed. The dryer machine will be motion censored so that when the clothes drop into the machine, it will close the door and begin drying immediately. The drying machines will also have smart-technology that will determine how long the clothes need to dry, and dry them to perfection every time. Doing laundry can take up to 3 hours of your day for one load, as you have to be around in order to change them out. By designing it this way, all you have to do is load your laundry, which takes about 5 minutes, and then by the time you are back, the clothes will be ready to wear.
Reflection questions:
My general experience with this assignment was enjoyment. It was interesting to think of an everyday thing we use and see how we can make it better. I would say this is a profound idea for creativity because often it is difficult to come up with something completely original. Oftentimes, it is easier to analyze something that you have experience with and see how you can make it into something new or improve it. Creativity is not limited to completely original ideas, but rather bringing new ideas to something old or connecting things that were not previously connected. This impulse to improve things or think of them better is very similar to an artist's impulse to create. It is finding inspiration from a basic idea, and then using your own experiences and challenges to create it into something new.
